Foldable container



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Filed May 21. 1968 June 30, 1970 H. n. WAKEFIELD FOLDBLE CONTAINER 2Sheets-Sheet 2,

Filed May 21. 1968 United States Patent O 3,517,875 FOLDABLE CONTAINER tHarold Donavon Wakefield, Houston, Tex., assiguor to The Coca-ColaCompany, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 21, 1968,Ser. No. 730,757 Int. Cl. B65d 5/.08

U.S. Cl. 229-39 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A foldable andunfoldable container for dispensing liquid, powdered, solid orsemi-solid products to a user capable of at storage in folded state withconsequent space saving prior to use and including generally parallelside and end panels all joined together end to end with transversescoring between adjacent panels to facilitate ready manipulativemovement of the panels into an unfolded open container forming conditionfor reception of dispensed products. The respective panels along theirbottom edges are also provided with depending flaps likewise withscoring along said bottom edges, the flaps being interleaved to benormally between the folded together panels and unfold automatically toa transverse position when the panels are manipulated to open containerforming position to form a closed bottom for the opened containerandbeing so shaped as to interlock at such time to retain the container inopen condition. A collapsible leakproof liner also may be included whichin the folded condition of the panels will be in collapsed state thatwill expand upon opening of the container to permit leak? withoutrequiring transfer of such concentrates to a second container.

FIELD THE INVENTION This invention relates to a collapsible panelledcontainer which can be shipped and stored in a flat or folded conditionand for use can be readily manipulated to an open or unfolded conditionand at the same time automatically provide a bottom for the openedcontainer. The invention also relates to a collapsible container thatcan be used in `such condition kto store a concentrate therein andwhichupon being manipulated to its open or unfolded conditioinwillpermit introduction of an additive such as a diluent to the concentrateto condition the latter to useful state directly in the openedcontainer.

Because of space considerations, storage and/or d ispensing, containersare generally shipped and stored in a at or folded condition rather thanin their open or unfolded condition until their use is required. When itis desired to use the container for receivingproducts to be dispensed,e.g. at a soda or food counter, the folded con,

tainer is manipulated by the dispenser from its flat or folded conditionto an open or unfolded condition after which the product may be placedin the opened container. For quickchange from folded to open condition,simple manipulation is required by the dispenser whichautomatically'will also provide la closed bottom thereforbe carried away3,517,875 Patented June 30, 1970 ICC shipped and stored in folded orcollapsed state to the ultimate user who is then required to unfold thecontainer and condition the concentrate by an additive such as a diluentto render it capable of use. Examples of this are powdered coffee ortea, powdered milk, dried soup, dried food mixes, powdered glue,premixed concentrated paint, etc. Upon purchase, the user should be ableto unseal the folded container package, open it to unfolded conditionquickly and deposit required additive to the concentrate in the openedcontainer without needing to transfer it to a larger container for suchpurposes.

With many prior art containers that have been used to store products forshipment and sale in flat or folded condition manipulation to an open orunfolded condition has required either placement of a separate closuremember over the bottom end of the opened or unfolded container or themanually inter-engagement and locking of flaps connected as adjuncts tothe container panels to provide a closed bottom for the opened containerto insure that a product stored or to be dispensed in the open containerwould not spill from its otherwise open bottom end. This obviously hasbeen a burdensome task and, moreover, has slowed dispensation at acounter to the user.

Similarly, heretofore, in particular with concentrated products, nomatter whether such product was edible or inedible, frozen or solid,liquid or powder, the ultimate user after opening the container has hadto transfer thev concentrate therefrom in its relatively small volume toa second container of much larger volume to permit mixing therewith ofthe required additive to achieve the desired useful product beforemixing could be effected. The use of a second container by the ultimateuser also is generally burdensome as it is time-consuming and also mustbe washed and cleaned after use. Often, too, a second container is notavailable.

It is thus apparent there is a need for a collapsible container thatwill automatically form a bottom as the container is manipulated from aat or folded and collapsed condition to an open or unfolded conditionand that it will nd widespread use. Additionally, if such a containercan, in the at or folded and collapsed condition, be used also to storea concentrate in a leakproof adjunct which latter upon manipulation toan open or unfolded condition of the container can provide a largervolume in the leakproof adjunct that will occur automatically and besupported by the container bottom that desired additive necessary forthe desired and nal product can be introduced directly to theconcentrate in the expanded adjunct in the original container. This willadd to the desirability of the collapsible container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION automatically interengage witheach other toform a bot..`

tom closure for the opened container. n

A further object of the present invention is to provide a container thatalso can be used in flat, folded or collapsed condition to store aconcentrate of a final product and which container upon manipulation atthe site of use to an open or unfolded condition will also permitintroduction into the container of a desired additive necessaryv toachievev the final product without requiring transfer of 3 theconcentrate to a second container prior to such introduction of saidadditive.

Briefly, in a first embodiment of the present invention a four-sidepanelled container also has flaps extending from bottom edges of each ofthe panels. Each flap is either integral with or permanently fastened toan adjacent ap and normally lies folded against and between the panels.When the container is manipulated from its fiat folded or collapsedcondition to the open or unfolded condition the said flaps automaticallyboth extend transversely of the flaps and interengage with each other toform a closed bottom for the opened container.

In a second embodiment of the invention, a flexible, collapsible pouchor envelope with an open mouth has its lips attached to the side panelsof the collapsed container which is otherwise like that of said -firstembodiment of the invention. The collapsed pouch or envelope may containa concentrate in a desired quantity even when within the collapsedcontainer. When such container is manipulated to the open or unfoldedcondition the pouch or envelope volume Will expand automaticallysubstantially to the inner volume of the opened container and also besupported by the flap-formed container bottom so that desired additivemay be introduced and combined with the concentrate in the expandedpouch or envelope directly to achieve the finally desired product in theopened container without any need for transfer f the concentrate in thelatter to a second container for mixing.

DESCRIPTION OF 'IHE DRAWINGS Other aspects and features of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description andaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsed container embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4-6 show successive perspective views of the flaps of thecontainer of FIGS. 1-3 in successive positions of movement as thecollapsed container is opened to form a bottom for the container as thecontainer is being manipulated from the folded, fiat or collapsedcondition of FIGS. l and 2 to the open or unfolded condition of FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 shows in perspective and in opened condition a second embodimentof a collapsible container embodying the present invention that may beused to condition an additive to a final product, the concentrateremaining in the same container after its opening and in which theconcentrate has been stored and shipped;

FIG. 8 shows in section along line 8 8 of FIG. 7 the opened containerinto which an additive is being introduced for mixture with the initialconcentrate stored in the said opened container;

FIG. 9 is a plan View of the blank for preparation of the container ofboth embodiments of the present invention, and

FIG. 10 shows in section the container of the second embodiment of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsand more particularly to FIG. 1, the reference character 10 denotes afolded or flat container according to the present invention. Thiscontainer as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 includes joined side panels 11 and 12and end panels 13 and 14, all made from a common blank B. Transversescoring lines 15, 16, 17 and 18 define the respective side and endpanels. 'Ihe side panel 12 in addition includes a flap or tab 19 beyondthe scoring line 18 which as seen in FIG. 3 can be adhered or otherwisesecured internally to the end panel 14 when the panels are foldedtogether along their respective score lines as seen in said FIG. 3 toform an endless band and tabular element along the respective scoringlines into closely collapsed condition or unfolded from that conditioninto an open parallelopiped as seen in FIG. 7, with side panels 11 and12 parallel to and spaced from each other and end panels 13 and 14likewise parallel to and spaced from each other. Bottom forming flaps 20and 21 of substantially like shape are integral with the bottom edges ofeach side panel 11 and 12 being demarked therefrom by aligned scoringlines 22 and 23 from respective side panels so that when the containeris in the flat or folded condition as viewed in FIG. 2, these flaps 20and 21 are positioned in folded parallel relationship between thecontainer side panels 11 and 12. Likewise, the end panel 13 includes anintegral bottom forming flap 24 demarked therefrom by a scoring line 25aligned with scoring lines 22 and 23, and the end panel 14 also includes`an integral bottom forming flap 26 demarked therefrom by a scoring line27 also aligned with scoring lines 22, 23 and 24. These flaps 24 and 26likewise lie positioned internally between the side panels when thecontainer is in its flat or folded condition.

As seen in FIG. 9, the respective flaps 20, 21, 24 and 26 are integralwith their respective panels 11, 12, 13 and 14 with the scoring or foldlines 22, 23, 25 and 27 aligned and lying between each panel and itsrespective flap so that folding of the flaps thereon can be effected toallow the flaps to move relative to their respective panels.

As seen in FIG. 9, flap 21 includes wider portion 21A and narrowerportion 21B separated by a recessed portion 21C. The wider portion 21Aincludes an edge 21E that is parallel to scoring line 23 and in extentis slightly less in length than one-half the length of fold line 23. Aninwardly slanted side edge 21L extends from the intersection of scoringline 18 and fold line 23 toward edge 21E and joins it. The narrowerportion 21B of less width than wider portion 21A includes edge 21N whichis also parallel to scoring line 23. Side 21G of narrower portion 21B isgenerally perpendicular to edge 21N and meets with a slanted edge 21Mwhich latter joins the intersection of fold lines 23 and 17.

Edges 21E, 21K and 21N are all parallel to each other, the edge 21Ebeing furthermost from fold line 23 with edge 21K closest of the threeedges to fold line 23. Additionally of the flap portions defined by thethree edges 21E, 21K and 21N, portion 21B is narrower than widestportion 21A and the portion 21C of intermediate width lies between saidwidest and narrowest portions 21A and 21B.

Flap 20 is substantially identical in configuration to flap 21 and thosesides and portions on flap 20 that find counter parts in fiap 21 havethe same lettering subscripts as those edges and portions of flap 21except that they are prefaced by the reference 20 instead of 21. In liap20, the portion 20B extends from recessed portion 20C to side edge 20Qwhich is substantially aligned with fold line 15. A scoring or fold line20F extends diagonally across flap 20 from fold line 22 to edge 20Kdefining a triangular portion 20X (shown shaded) which as will bedescribed is ultimately adhered to flap 26.

Flap 24 is seen to Ibe generally trapezoidal in shape with edge 24Cparallel to scoring line 25 while edge 24B is aligned with fold line 17.Edge 24C is slightly shorter than scoring line 25 with edge 24H of flap24 including an elongated slanted part and two short bevelled end edgeportions 24G and 24L at different ends of edge 24H. As can be seen inFIG. 9, edges 24L and 24G are `approximately parallel to each other butoffset slightly and with edge 24C of flap 24 approximately the samedistance from scoring line 2S as edge 21K of flap 21 is from fold line23. A scoring or fold line 24P extends diagonally across liap 24 fromfold line 25 to edge 24C defining a triangular portion 24X (shownshaded) which as will be described is ultimately adhered to flap 21.

Flap 26 is a six-sided figure with edge'26B parallel to fold line 27 andapproximately the same distance from it as edge 20B of ap 20 is fromfold line 22. Edge 26B is approximately one-half the length of fold line27 and approximately perpendicular to edge 26C which extends almost theentire Iwidth of flap 26 and meets with a slanted edge 26K, the latterextending to the intersection of scoring line and fold line 27. As canbe seen from FIG. 9, edge 26K is very small and thus edge 26C andscoring line 15 are nearly aligned. Edge 26D of fiap 26 is parallel toedge 26C and meets with a slanted edger26E which extends to fold line27. The generally overall widths of aps and 21 in their widest regions20A and 21A are somewhat greater than one-half the width of end panels13 and 14 for purposes to be described.

When it is desired to assemble the blank B defined by the describedpanels and flaps as shown in FIG. 9 into a container that can bemanipulated from a fiat or folded condition seen best in FIGS. l, 2 and3, to an open or unfolded condition with the various flapsinter-engaging with each other to form a closing bottom for the unfoldedcontainer, the Iblank B is first folded along the scorings 22, 23, 24and 26 to bring the respective flaps inwardly of their panels.Additionally, fiaps 20 and 24 are both folded along their diagonalscorings 20F and 24P and the shaded triangular portions 20X and 24X ofsaid respective aps are then movable foldably relative to the otherportions thereof. The panels 11, 12, 13 and 14 are then folded togetheralong their transverse scorings 15, 16, 17 and 18. Then the flap portion24X which has been folded along scoring line 24P is glued or otherwiseattached permanently to the underside (as viewed in FIG. 9) of flap 21so that edge 24B of flap 24 lies adjacent fold line 23. Similarly, flapportion 20X which has been folded along scoring line 20P is glued orotherwise attached to the underside (as viewed in FIG. 9) of flap 26 sothat side 20Q of flap 20 is adjacent to fold line 27. With each fiap 24and 26 now attached to an adjacent fiap 21 or 20 as just described, tab19 is now attached to the inside face of end panel 14 (FIG. 3). At thistime, all four flaps 20, 21, 24 and 26 will project upwardly and liebetween the folded together panels 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the containerwhich then is inits folded or at condition (FIGS. 3 and 4).

When it is desired to open or unfold the assembled container 10, forcesin direction of arrows X and Y are externally applied, for example, atthe fold lines 15 and 17 of FIG. 3, so that each end panel 13 and 14will swivel parallelly relative to the other end panel, while each sidepanel 11 and 12 will move laterally and parallel relative to the otherside panel until the container is in the semi-open condition shown inFIG. 5. In this condition, all the flaps 20, 21, 24 and 26 will havebegun to rotate outwardly and downwardly on their scorings 22, 23, and27 towards the bottom of the container with edges 21E and 21L of flap 21above the widest portion` 20A of fiap 20 and widest portion 21A of flap21 directly Yabove the portion 24X of fiap 2,4 adjacent fold line 24P.Of course, section 20X of flap 20 (not seen in FIG. 5) will be beneaththe underside of narrower portion 26B of flap 26 having been previouslyattached thereto. Scoring line 20P of ap 20 will then be beneath flap 26as triangular portion 20X (not seen in FIG. 5) is attached to theunderside of fiap 26. Edge 21L of flap 21 will be almost directly aboveedges 26D and 26E of flap 26. Similarly, portion 20A of ap 20 will beabove edges 24H and 24L of flap 24. It is apparent from FIG. 5 that thecorner formed by the intersection of edges 24H and 24L serves to ensurethat edge 20E of flap 20 will fall above narrower portion 21B of flap 21as the fiaps unfold. In this Way, wider portion 20A of flap 20 willalways easily and smoothly unfold on top of narrower portion 21B andrecessed portion 21C of flap 20.

Continued application of forces along X and Y against scoring lines 15and 17 will cause edges 21H and 211 of ap 21 and edge 20H and 20I offlap 20 to momentarily cross each other as seen in FIG. 6. As this isoccurring a greater portion of the area of hap 24 adjacent edges 24H and24L will be beneath widest portion 20A of flap 20 than is shown in FIG.5. Similarly, narrower portion 21B Will overlie a greater portion offlap 24 adjacent fold 24P and the portion of ap 26 adjacent edge 26Cwill cover a greater portion of flap 20 adjacent fold line 20P thanshown for both aps in FIG. 5. Additionally, widest portion 21A of flap21 will cover a larger portion of flap 26 adjacent sides 26D and 26Ethan was previously covered."After edges 21H, 211 and 20H, 201 havecrossed each other, continued application of forces to fold lines 15 and17 will move the container to the fully open or unfolded condition shownin FIG. 6. Here, edges 201 and 211 will lie interlocked adjacent eachother with Widest portion 20A of flap 20 overlying recessed portion 21Cand narrower portion 21B of ap 21. Widest portion 20A of flap 20 willalso cover the part of flap 24 that lies adjacent edges 24E and 24L.Similarly, portion 24X of flap 24 and the part of the flap adjacent toportion 24X will be beneath narrower portion 21B of flap 21. Widestportion 21A of flap 21 adjacent side 21L will cover the part of flap 26adjacent edges 26D and 26E and, also, cover narrower portion 20B andrecessed portion 20C of fiap 20. The part of flap 26 adjacent side 26Cwill cover portion 20X and adjacent parts of flap 20. Thus, the overlapof portion 21A of flap 21 relative to underlying portion 20B of flap 20and similar overlap of portion 20A of ap 20 relative to portion 21B offlap 21 as well as the flap portions 20A and 24X which are secured torespective flaps 21 and 26 as described above will stop further rotarymovement of the flaps after they reach a substantially horizontalposition perpendicular to the side and end panels, the four flaps overand underlapping then forming a closed bottom for the now-opencontainer. An interlock in this condition is provided by the edges 201and 211, which were forced past each other during opening movement ofthe flaps thus preventing undesired collapse of the opened container.

Thus it can be readily seen that upon manipulation of the folded or flatcontainer shown in FIG. 4 to the fully open or unfolded condition shownin FIG. 6, the flaps of the container will automatically interengagewith and over and underlap each other to form a closed bottom for thecontainer. Closure of the opened container can be effected, if desired,simply by applying forces along and externally at the scorings 16 and18.

For ordinary use, as a carrier for solids such as french fries or othersolid food products, the dispenser or other counterman need simplyremove a folded container 10 from a pile, apply opening forces to it atX and Y as described and introduce the solid product into the openedcontainer and hand it to the purchaser. If a liquid product is to bedispensed, however, the container additionally may include a flexiblepouch or envelope 60 of plastic,

flexible leakproof material, preferably inert to contentsy to beinserted and whose lips are secured suitably as by glueing to upperlinear faces of the four panels and which envelope lines their interior.When the container is unfolded to open condition as described, theenvelope liner 60 likewise unfolds so that liquid contents can beintroduced into the opened container and retained therein.

The foldable container thus far described can also be modified furtherto serve as a convenient packaging device for concentrates such aspowdered food and gelatin products that require mixture with an additivesuch as a diluent to condition them for use.

If it is desired to use such a modified container as a package to storeand ship a concentrate in a compact folded condition which when thepackage is opened and when the container is manipulated as described toan open or unfolded condition will retain the concentrate and alsoprovide means to receive the required additive such as a diluentnecessary to condition it for final actual use, the second embodimentdescribed is further modified in addition to inclusion of the flexibleleakproof pouch or envelope 60 attached to the upper inside faces of thepanels of the container. In the described folded condition of thecontainer, the pouch 60 is in collapsed condition and also has arequired amount of concentrate C deposited therein (FIG. 10) which,however, is of small volume and does not interfere with folding togetherof the container, panels and flaps. After insertion of the 1i11- ing,cover members 61 and `62 secured in place as by sealing tear strips 64and 63 all are mounted over the ends of the folded container to seal theopen ends thereof and prevent leakage of the concentrate filling C. Thiscompact sealed container package 10 permits safe preservation, storageand shipment of compact packages. Thus, the container panels 11', 12',and end panels 13', etc. and aps 21', etc. in a folded or flat conditionas described with respect to container 10 will carry therein the pouch`60' in a collapsed state in the uppermost portion of the foldedcontainer 10 as seen in FIG. 10. The concentrate C such as powderedcoffee, tea or milk, frozen juice, paste or the like is filled intopouch 60'. The cover members 61 and 62 are releasably held in place overthe top and bottom ends of the container =10' as by said tear strips 63and 64 or by other conventional means.

When it is desired to condition the concentrate C to its useful state,the tear strips -63 and 64 and closures 61 and `62 are removed. Thefolded container 10' is then manipulated from its flat or foldedcondition in the same way as the first and second embodiments to theopen or unfolded condition similar to that of the first embodiment seenin FIG. 7 with the flaps thereof forming a supporting bottom for thecontainer 10 in the same Way as previously described. The bottom of thepouch -60 will be supported by the unfolded 4flaps and the additive Afor the concentrate C then may be introduced into the pouch as seen inFIG. 8. This eliminates the burdensome task of having to ship and storethe concentrate in one container, and, for conditioning, to transfer itto a larger volumed container when it is desired to put the concentrateC into use. The concentrates that may be packaged with this embodimentof the present invention can be either edible or inedible, frozen orsolid, semi-solid, liquid or powder. Moreover, in the case, for example,of gelatin concentrates the opened package can even be used as a moldfor shaping the edible product into an attractive form afterintroduction of the additive to the opened container.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described andshown, variations in structural detail within the scope of the appendedclaims are possible and are contemplated within the scope of theappended claims. There is no intention, therefore, of limitation to theexact abstract and disclosure herein presented.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved foldable container of the type having side panels and endpanels joined with transverse first scoring lines between adjacentpanels to permit their folding and unfoldingy first and second sideflaps and first and second end aps foldably depending about g secondscoring lines forming the bottom edges of their respective side and endpanels, and a portion of each of two of said flaps being joinedvvrespectively to each of the other two aps whereby opening movement ofsaid side and end panels about said first scoring lines causes automaticunfolding of said flaps about said second scoring lines into a containerbottom forming position, wherein the improvement comprises:

said lirst and second side flaps having substantially the sa-meconfiguration including a first extended portion of selected width, asecond extended portion of lesser width and a recessed portion betweensaid extended portions and said rst end flap being approximatelytrapezoidal in shape and having a first edge approximately parallel tosaid second scoring line, a second edge approximately perpendicular toand intersecting said second scoring line and said rst edge, and adiagonal scoring line therein extending from the intersection of thesecond edge with the second scoring line to a point on said first edgeto form a` triangular folda'ble portion which is joined to the firstside ap.

2. A foldable container in accordance with claim 1 wherein said firstend ap comprises:

a third edge slanted from said second scoring line to meet said firstedge so as to form a corner that, as the container is unfolded, willbear against the first extended portion of the second side flap wherebythe first extended portion of the second side ap unfolds above thesecondextended portion of the first said ap.

3. A foldable container in accordance with clairnl wherein said secondend flap comprises:

first and second edges perpendicular to said second sco-ring line, v

a third edge parallel to the second scoring line and joining said firstand second edges,

a fourth edge extending slantedly from one point on said second scoringline and intersecting said first edge, and

a fifth edge, longer than said fourth edge, extending slantedly from asecond point on said second scoring line and intersecting said secondedge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,326,417 8/ 1943 Ullrich Q229-39 2,396,168 3/ 1946 Finn. 2,914,237 11/ 1959 Malmad. 2,918,205 12/1959 Zeitter 229--39 X FOREIGN PATENTS 859,794 1/ 1961 Great Britain.

DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 229-41

